Great Britain & Ireland (Start London, end London)

Booking Dates

07/12/2018 through 03/11/2019

Travel Dates

07/12/2018 through 03/14/2019

Provider

Contiki Vacations

Great Britain & Ireland (Start London, End London)This trip is a whirlwind of sightseeing, history & culture as you hit the highlights of England, Scotland & Ireland. Practice your Liverpudlian accent in the home of rock & roll’s original Fab Four – The Beatles! Stroll Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, then grab some binoculars to search for the Loch Ness monster. Add in drinking Guinness, kissing the Blarney Stone, castles, cathedrals & you’ve got an one awesome experience!

London to Liverpool

See Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London & Westminster Abbey

Follow in the footsteps of The Beatles on a locally guided Magical Mystery Tour

Liverpool to York

Guided walking tour of York

See York Minster and Clifford’s Tower

York to Lake District

Visit Bowness & see Windermere

Lake District to Edinburgh

See Hadrian’s Wall

See Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace and the Royal Mile

Entrance to Gretna Green Museum and take part in a historic wedding ceremony

Edinburgh to Scottish Highlands

Visit St. Andrews, the home of golf

Scenic drives including the Whisky Trail and Royal Deeside

Visit Loch Ness & Loch Lomond

Spot ‘Nessie’ on a boat cruise of stunning Loch Ness

Scottish Highlands to West Highlands

See Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain

Glasgow to Dublin

See Trinity College, the Monument of Light, Parnell Square and Christ Church Cathedral

Cork to Galway

Galway Walking Tour

Visit Blarney Castle

Visit the Cliffs of Moher (weather dependent)

Galway to Londonderry

See the 17th century city walls of Londonderry

Londonderry to Belfast

See the Giant’s Causeway

City tour of Belfast with a Local Guide

Belfast to Dublin

See Trinity College, the Monument of Light, Parnell Square and Christ Church Cathedral

Accommodation

16 nights twin-share hotel accommodation

Modern, air-conditioned coach with electrical for charging

Hotel tips, local taxes & service charges

Ferry crossings

Food

15 hot breakfasts

8 dinners

Staff

An experienced & professional Trip Manager & Driver team

Sightseeing tours of all major cities plus orientations in all other destinations

Belfast

Located in eastern Northern Ireland on Belfast Lough, an inlet of the north channel of the Irish Sea, Belfast is the captial and largest city in the country.n Population is around 320,000.

Cork

Don’t worry how to pronounce Cobh, you’re really here to see Cork, Ireland, the main district of which sits on an island formed by the diverging channels of the River Lee. The city is filled with picturesque quays and bridges.

Whether you’ve come to kiss the Blarney stone, to outfit yourself in Irish tweeds or to hear “The Bells of Shandon” ringing, Cork and its surrounding countryside will charm you from glen to glen.

Dublin

Joyce, Yeats, Shaw, Beckett– no, it’s not an English test, it’s your vacation, and if literature is of interest to you, there’s no better place to be: No other city has produced so many Nobel Prize Winners (including 1995’s recipient, the poet Seamus Heany).

Ireland’s capital is a thriving, modern city, yet it’s also strikingly elegant, with many beautifully restored Georgian buildings. And with friendly natives and cheery pubs–well, what more could a visitor want?

Edinburgh

Edinburgh, (èd´n-bûr´e) capital city (1991 pop. 421,213) of Scotland and royal burgh. The city is divided into two sections: the Old Town, on the slope of Castle Rock, dates from the 11th century; the New Town spread to the north in the late 18th cent. Edinburgh is a government, finance, and tourist center. Most industry, which includes brewing and distilling, publishing, and paper milling, is situated near the city’s port, Leith. Edinburgh grew up around its 11th-century castle and became Scotland’s capital in 1437. It blossomed as a cultural center in the 18th and 19th century, with such figures as David Hume, Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott. It remains a cultural and educational hub and hosts an annual international arts festival.

Galway

Galway is located on the western coast of Ireland. Stunning beauty, world class cuisine and Irish music are found in abundance here.

Glasgow

“Glasgow town never brought me down,” Paul McCartney sang in 1973, and Greenock, gateway to the dynamic city of Glasgow, Scotland, is sure to please you too as a jumping off point for some terrific exploration of the land of the Scotch. If you like castles and lochs (personally, we prefer bagels and lochs), you’ll love this fairy-tale kingdom.

More ancient and considerably larger than Scotland’s capital of Edinburgh, Glasgow is a multilayered and rich historical experience, easily accessible to visitors. Statue-filled George’s Square, red-brick People’s Palace, and other main buildings like the central railway station north of the river Clyde, are the obvious places to start. The ancient mass of Glasgow Cathedral sits at the city’s heart; around it, the wide streets of Buchanan Street, Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street have all been pedestrianized and must be savored on foot.

Known as the “West End,” the westernmost half of the city boasts the refined, handsome proportions and prosperous townhouses of the island’s finest Victorian city, along with the old and new buildings of Glasgow University. Public parks and gardens help to dignify the southern outskirts. Finally, you’ll find their tourist information office about the most helpful on the island!

Liverpool

The City is a vibrant and exciting place to visit and a warm “Liverpool” welcome is always guaranteed. The centre is alive with theatres, restaurants, clubs and attractions that are able to provide something for everyone. It is one of the world’s most famous and historic cities and its distinguished life as a centre for world trade and commerce is clearly reflected in its rich culture and architectural heritage, a fact re-inforced by being shortlisted for the City of Architecture and Design 1999. Liverpool is also host to many sporting and spectator events throughout the year, a selection of which are detailed in this
guide.

Over 2500 listed buildings are located within the area and many are built to classical designs. William Brown Street is home to a number of the city’s finest buildings including the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Museum and Central Libraries. Nearby St. George’s Hall, constructed in an age when size and grandeur were of paramount importance, is widely
regarded as the finest neo-classical building in Europe. The Town Hall is the jewel of Liverpool’s historic buildings with its Golden Minerva sitting proudly atop the golden dome. Both of these magnificent buildings have been refurbished and feature a programme of events, public openings, exhibitions, conferences and business and private functions.

The City can also boast to being one of the greenest Cities in Britain. Relax and enjoy the pleasant surroundings of the 2400 acres of parklands and open spaces. Croxteth Hall and Country Park Estate is set in 500 acres of woodland with a working farm animal collection, miniature railway and adventure playground. The historic mansion contains period
rooms and character figures and welcomes visitors throughout the summer.

London

Restless, enduring and wonderful, London is Europe’s largest city. And surely, if you have the choice to visit only two or three cities of the world in your lifetime, by all means make one of them London.

The Romans started it all. The city they developed was “the square mile,” – and Londoners still hunt for Roman relics in the Thames. History is everywhere you look in London, yet today the city is as modern and metropolitan as any city on earth.

By day, London is buzzing with the frenetic pace of commerce not even Dickens could have imagined. By night, the excitement and glitter of theatres, cinemas, pubs and restaurants beckons throngs of travellers from around the world. But there is another London, a peaceful London of cool museums, quiet tea rooms, immaculate gardens and hushed churches.

There is Royal London – ancient pageantry in a modern kingdom – with its palaces, pomp and precise manoeuvres at the Changing of the Guard. And there’s outrageous London, the urban gathering ground for Cockney pitchmen, “fringe” theatre and the city’s youth, with their own distinctive style.

London, this extraordinary city of contrasts, holds a stunning abundance of hidden-round-the-corner surprises. You owe it to yourself to explore them all. Here, then, is the London you’ll come to know and remember.

Londonderry

Northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, Londonderry is an important port city.

York

York, located in Northern England, is considered the gateway to the North. A stronghold throughout history, York is a quaint and picturesque and is well preserved.